Easter 5, 18th May
Readings: Acts 11.1-18; Rev. 21.1-6; John 13. 31-35
Theme: A New Heaven and a New Earth
The Revelation to John is the final book of the Bible. It contains many strange symbolic animals and places and has been a source of much speculation throughout Christian history as to its core message. We read this book as part of our resurrection readings because it contains a key aspect of the resurrection of Jesus which we should appropriate in our own understanding of the faith. The resurrection of Jesus inaugurates the end times. With the coming of Jesus and his death and resurrection a certain old order has now passed away and we have entered into the final phase of history. In this final phase there is a transformation taking place: earth is being transformed into heaven. This is the fifth aspect of the resurrection that I would like us to focus on during this fifth Sunday of Easter, namely, the resurrection provides the blueprint for this final transformation of heaven and earth.
When we think about the resurrection there can be a tendency to confine our thoughts to Jesus alone and to forget that as St Paul tells us (1 Cor. 15.2o-23), Jesus is the first fruits of this final harvest. The resurrection is the awakening of Jesus from the dead which is the destiny of all who have died in Christ. In fact, the whole created order is awaiting this transformation, the transformation of the heaven and earth as the holy city, the new Jerusalem descends from heaven at the end of time. At this point, the path of history will have run its course. The resurrection of Jesus inaugurates this ultimate transformation as the resurrected body of Jesus is now in heaven, as the head of the body, the church, and his earthly body is incarnate amongst us in the church.
So, the resurrection is the witness of the transformation of earth and heaven that will be completed at the end of time when the new Jerusalem descends from heaven. This is why when we read the accounts of the resurrection in the Scriptures, we should not confine ourselves to the person of Jesus. Jesus is the first fruits who embodies the pattern for all. In this new pattern death will be no more. There will be no more crying and pain. These are, as the Scripture tells us, the first things. They belong to the old order, the order that was in place before the resurrection. Together with the resurrected Jesus the new order, as all things will be made new, is inaugurated in the risen body of Jesus now in heaven.
The symbolism for this new heaven and new earth used by John is one of nuptial imagery. The bride is to be prepared as a bride adorned for her husband as God will make his home among mortals. The bride spoken of here is the church, the bride of Christ, which through its sufferings is being prepared for the great event of the descent of the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is the holy city where the risen body of Jesus now dwells sitting on the throne spoken about in the Book of Revelation.
So, the resurrection of Jesus is both an end point and a new beginning. It is an end point in that it is the consummation of the salvific mission of Jesus on earth through the resurrection. It is a new beginning in that this consummation in Jesus has not yet been completed in all those who have fallen asleep. This is to await the descent of the new Jerusalem at the end of time when the church has been properly adorned and so made ready for the return of the risen Jesus.
So, the motif of a new heaven and a new earth in the Book of Revelation tells us that the resurrection of Jesus is the inauguration of this transformation of heaven and earth. The risen body of Jesus is the bridge between these two cities, which is proclaimed amongst us through word and sacrament in our liturgies which represent for us the final consummation when heaven and earth will be one because God will dwell amongst us. These two cities will thus become one. There will be no more sea to separate them as we currently experience this with earth feeling very earthly and heaven seemingly so distant from us. Yet, it is not as if this separation is not being bridged. The work of the Holy Spirit amongst us is preparing the ground for this unification as history marches on towards its final consummation. This is why our Gospel speaks of the departure of the Lord. This departure is so that the preparation for the final reunion can take place. The patience of the Lord works such that things can be prepared through the many twists and turns of history for the descent of the new Jerusalem. Nobody knows when this will be so there is little point in speculating on it as some do. What we should be concerned with is getting ourselves ready because we are invited to the wedding. The preparation that we require is to learn the way of love which our Gospel invites us to. The pattern of love which has been witnessed to by Jesus is the self-same pattern which the church is commanded to embody in its own life. It is through this that everyone will know that we are disciples of the Lord, as the Scripture puts it. In the new heaven and the new earth this will be the ground of the new Jerusalem; a foundation so solid that it will never pass away.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.